Pronunciation
guide for English-speakers:
"row-ch-beer" (pronounce "row"
like "cow" and "ch" like "x" in "Mexico"
when the country's name is pronounced by a native speaker.)

Definition:
Once upon a time, all beers were Rauchbiers, so to speak. The term Rauchbier
simply means "smoke beer" in German, and with the ancient kilning
methods of drying green brewer's malt over open fires, all grains picked
up smoky flavors and passed them on to the beers made from them. Today,
however, with "clean" malt being the dominant brewing grist, old-style
"smoke beers" have set themselves apart as an atavistic rarity,
a throwback to a time gone by. Most Rauchbiers, like most Bavarian beers,
are barley-based lagers. They are darkish-amber and opaque, with an alcoholic
strength ranging from 4.8 to 6.5% by volume.

When
Smoke Gets In Your Beer

Modern Rauchbier
evolved over centuries as a local specialty in the Franconian city of Bamberg
and its environs in northern Bavaria. There, a few breweries still
make this old and unusual beer style. The only Rauchbier that is nowadays
readily available in most parts of the United States, however, is Aecht
Schlenkerla Rauchbier made by Heller-Bräu Trum KG.

This brewery makes
several smoky brews. The traditional Schlenkerla Rauchbier, considered the
archetype of all Rauchbiers, is brewed and aged much like a Märzen.
It has an alcohol level by volume of 5.1%. Schlenkerla Rauchweizen is a
smoky Weissbier with 5.2% alcohol by volume, while Schlenkerla Lager is
a smoky Helles-type blond brewed to an alcohol level of 4.8%. Schlenkerla
also brews two seasonal smoky offerings, an Urbock sold in October in bottles
only, with a Bockbier alcohol level of 6.5%; and a Fastenbier, a Doppelbock-like
Lenten strong beer, available only in the spring as a cask-conditioned brew.

Aecht Schlenkerla
is considered the gold standard for modern Rauchbiers. The word "aecht"
is the Franconian mangling of the High-German "echt," which means
"true" or "original." However, there are other breweries
in Bamberg and environs that make excellent Rauchbiers as well. Among these,
the Brauerei Spezial is perhaps the best known. Seversal Rauchbiers are
made from a foundation grist of pale, "clean" Pils malt, which
is then mixed with a significant, but widely varying, portion of malt that
is kilned the old way, over an open fire fueled by local beechwood. Others,
like most Schlenkerla Rauchbiers, are made entirely from smoked malt, without
any "regular" malt addition. The Bamberg-style of drying brewer's
grist is similar to the kilning of malt over peat moss for Scotch whisky.
The smokiness from the beechwood imparts a bacony flavor to the beer. Most
smoked malt nowadays comes from commercial malting companies. The world's
best-known so-called Rauchmalz (smoked malt) comes from the Weyermann Malting
Company, which happens to be located in Bamberg as well. Schlenkerla, however,
is one of the last breweries in Germany that still malts its own grain.
Most Rauchbiers are brewed with a bit more hops than the average Bavarian
beer to counterbalance the otherwise too assertive smokiness.

The
Schlenkerla brewery's legal name is now Heller-Bräu Trum KG, owned
by the Trum family. The brew house and fermentation cellars are in the old-town
section in the center of Bamberg. These production facilities are not open
to the public. But within a short walk from the brew house is perhaps Schlenkerla's
most famous address, its public beer hall at Dominikanerstrasse 6. If the
Hofbräuhaus in Munich is the Mecca of all beer pilgrims, the Brauausschank
Schlenkerla is clearly the Medina. This venerable drinking establishment
used to be a medieval brewpub known as Zum Blauen Löwen (At The Blue
Lion). It is first mentioned in a document dating from 1405. It is not certain
when the current version of the Rauchbier emerged in and around Bamberg,
but, because of the malting methods employed by the Schlenkerla brewery
to this day, it is reasonably to assume that some form of smoked beer has
been brewed by this enterprise for at least five centuries.

The name Schlenkerla
is Bamberg slang for "Schlenkerer," a High-German word denoting
a person who is in the habit of swinging his arms while shuffling along.
The patrons of the Blue Lion affixed this nickname to a fellow named Andreas
Graser, who took over this classic Bamberg watering hole in 1877. Soon the
people began using the publican's epithet as a synonym for the tap room,
too, in which he dispensed his smoky brew ... and this is how the unusual
Schlenkerla Rauchbier got its unusual brand name.

In
its long history, Schlenkerla Rauchbier has won many honors and prizes,
including eight gold medals from the German Argicultural Society (DLG, left)
and, annually since 1883, the Seal of Quality from the German Agricultural
Marketing Board (CMA, right).

The
unassuming entrance
to the hallowed
Brauereiauschank Schlenkerla
at Dominikanerstrasse 6
in the old town of BambergIn these dark and smoky recesses,
inside the the centuries-old Brauereiauschank Schlenkerla, the dark and
smoky Rauchbier is served fresh from wooden casksKilns fired with beechwood logs
give the malt for Schlenkerla Rauchbier its unique smoky flavor

A
Parade of Smoked Brews from BambergFastenbier,
a smoked springtime Doppelbock

Smoked Urbock

Rauchweizen,
a smoked
dark Weissbier

Rauchweizen,
a smoked
dark Weissbier

Smoked
Lager

Rauchbier
and Pork
A Perfect Match

Because Rauchbier
is a robust brew, it goes extremely well with bold, full-flavored foods,
such as smoked ham, smoked pork, smoked salmon, smoked sausages, lamb chops,
pork ribs, pork roast, suckling pig on a spit, or smoked cheeses such as
smoked gouda or smoked provolone.

But Rauchbier reveals
its culinary best as a marinade and BBQ basting liquid for pork. The ingredients
below are based on two pounds of pork roast or pork ribs. Adjust quantities
to the amount of meat at hand.

Instructions
Pour the Rauchbier into a casserole dish. Dice two onions and add to the
beer. Season the beer with a teaspoon each of ground pepper, ground caraway
and salt. Marinade the meat in the seasoned Rauchbier for 24 to 32 hours,
in the refrigerator.

Then grill the meat in a BBQ (or in the oven) at 450 °F until done (about
two hours). Baste the meat liberally at least once every half hour with
the marinade. About ten minutes before the meat is done, cut carrots into
strips (Julienne-style) and boil them until al dente in the remaining
Rauchbier.

Instead of pork,
you can also cook a leg or rack of lamb, using the same technique.

Plate the meat and vegetables with a hearty potato salad and garnish with
sprigs of fresh parsley. Wash the meal down, naturally, with tumblers of
rich, creamy Rauchbier.